Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

485 results found

Weber, Ernst Heinrich

(Encyclopedia)Weber, Ernst Heinrich vāˈbər [key], 1795–1878, German physiologist. He was a professor at the Univ. of Leipzig (1821–71) and is known for his work on touch and for the formulation of Weber's l...

Schlegel, August Wilhelm von

(Encyclopedia)Schlegel, August Wilhelm von ouˈgo͝ost vĭlˈhĕlm fən shlāˈgəl [key], 1767–1845, German scholar and poet. With his brother, Friedrich von Schlegel, he founded the Athenaeum, which he edited (...

Schweinfurt

(Encyclopedia)Schweinfurt shvīnˈfo͝ort [key], city (1994 pop. 55,284), Bavaria, central Germany, on the Main River. Manufactures include beer, steel, electronics, and motor vehicles. The city is the center of a ...

Schick, Béla

(Encyclopedia)Schick, Béla bāˈlə shĭk [key], 1877–1967, American pediatrician, b. Hungary, M.D. Karl Franz Univ., Graz, 1900. After having taught at the Univ. of Vienna (1902–23), he came to the United Sta...

Richter, Ludwig

(Encyclopedia)Richter, Ludwig rĭkhˈtər [key], 1803–84, German painter, illustrator, and etcher; son and pupil of the engraver Karl Richter (1770–1848). His characteristic paintings combine figure and landsc...

Dreyer, Carl Theodor

(Encyclopedia)Dreyer, Carl Theodor kärl tāˈōdôrˌ drīˈər [key], 1889–1968, Danish motion picture director. He began making films in Denmark in 1919. His Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), widely regarded as a...

Engler, Adolf

(Encyclopedia)Engler, Adolf äˈdôlf ĕngˈlər [key], 1844–1930, German botanist. He emphasized the importance of geological history in the study of plant geography, and worked out an influential system of plan...

Arrabal, Fernando

(Encyclopedia)Arrabal, Fernando fārnänˈdō äräbälˈ [key], 1932–, French playwright, b. Melilla, Morocco. He studied law in Madrid before moving to Paris in 1954. His plays, which reflect his abhorrence of ...

Reclus, Jean Jacques Élisée

(Encyclopedia)Reclus, Jean Jacques Élisée zhäN zhäk ālēzāˈ rəklüˈ [key], 1830–1905, French geographer, b. Gironde, educated mainly in Germany, where he studied under Karl Ritter. Several times he was f...

Frederick William III

(Encyclopedia)Frederick William III, 1770–1840, king of Prussia (1797–1840), son and successor of Frederick William II. Well-intentioned but weak and vacillating, he endeavored to maintain neutrality in the Nap...

Browse by Subject